Dyer County: Rural Americans Enter the Great War

Dyer County: Rural Americans Enter the Great War Denton Davolt History 499: Senior Seminar March 18, 2017 1

The Great War or World War I was a war of attrition and one of the most destructive wars the world has ever been fought. Over 40,000,000 people across the world became casualties in the war. The United States alone lost 116,516 service members. 1 The Allied European nations suffered an estimated 22,570,830 casualties, which includes civilian causalities. The Central Powers suffered about 17,093,069 casualties. The Great War was chaotic and there are few told stories about those from rural areas that served and fewer stories about the rural home fronts. Most Americans are familiar with men like Sergeant Alvin C. York who captured over one hundred enemy combatants and earned the Medal of Honor, but not much has been told about the brave souls from Dyer County in Tennessee. The men and in some cases boys that went overseas were instrumental in helping to bring about the close of the Great War. Without those fresh American troops, the war could have lasted much longer. The American citizens at home also helped by rationing food and material goods to provide much needed materials and supplies for the war. During the war, 6,345 men from Dyer County registered for selective service also known as the draft. Dyer County had three drafts during the war. The first was on June 5 th, 1917 and 2,515 registered. The second occurred between the months of June and August 1918 and 286 registered. The third was on September 12 th, 1918 and 3,544 registered. 6,345 males registered for the draft. 889 were accepted at training camps. In addition to the draftees who were inducted into the Army, 360 men enlisted in the Army, National Guard, Navy, and Marines. Another 23 commissioned as officers in the Army and 4 earned commissions in the Navy. Dyer County provided 1,276 service members for the war. During the war, 78 were wounded and 53 died. 2 In 1910 the population for Dyer County was 27,729 and the estimated population was 30,000 in 1917. By 1918, twenty-two percent of the total population was 2

registered for the draft and four percent of the population was serving in a branch of the military. Most served in the Army or National Guard which were sometimes combined because they received the same training. Normally, they served separately. Many enlisted in the National Guard to be able to get to fight in the Great War more quickly. When the Great War broke out, Dyer County did not have its own National Guard Unit. Tennessee formed the 2 nd Tennessee Infantry and Dyer Countians joined Company K. After joining, some were transferred to the 117 th Infantry, the 118 th Infantry, and the 119 th Infantry. These units became a part of the 30 th Infantry Division. The 30 th Infantry Division was formed at Camp Sevier, Greenville, South Carolina and included National Guard units from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. It also had men from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. 3 The 30 th Infantry Division was nicknamed Old Hickory in honor of President Andrew Jackson. 4 In the War of 1812, Jackson was a Tennessee statesman and led troops from Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The 30 th Division trained in Camp Sevier and then was split up into individual regiments for travel to France. Company K of the 119 th Infantry had a majority of men from Dyer County. The 119 th Infantry split even further for transportation over seas. The regiment split into four detachments so some officers and noncommissioned officers could receive extra training. A train to Camp Merritt, New Jersey transported all four detachments. They arrived on May 1 st, 1918 and the noncommissioned officers were prepared for service overseas. The Advance School Detachment, which consisted of the some of the officers and NCOs, left on May 7 th, 1918 to go to Hoboken, New Jersey and boarded three ships that had once been German. They were the George Washington, the America, and the Dekalb. The officers and NCOs left on May 8 th, 1918 and were accompanied by seven destroyers. They 3

arrived in Brest, France ten days later. They trained until June 24 th, 1918 and rejoined the division on June 27 th, 1918. 5 The first detachment contained Regimental Headquarters, Headquarters Company, Machine Gun Company, Supply Company, and Companies A, B, and C. They boarded the British Ascania at Hoboken, New Jersey. The second detachment, which included 2 nd Battalion headquarters, and Companies E, F, G, and H, traveled by train to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 10 th. The next day they boarded the British steamship the Haverford. The third detachment included 3 rd Battalion Headquarters and Companies D, I, K, L, and M. They traveled by rail to Boston, Massachusetts and boarded another British steamship the Laomadon on May 11 th, 1918. The Ascania, the Haverford, and the Laomadon met at Halifax, Nova Scotia on May 15 th, 1918 and sailed for Liverpool, England. They arrived on May 28 th, 1918 and stayed three days to gather equipment, such as gas masks and ammunition. They also exchanged their American rifles for British ones because they were supposed to serve with the British. 6 At the time, the United States was issuing the M1903 Springfield Bolt-action Service Rifle and Great Britain was issuing the Short Magazine British Lee-Enfield Mark III. Both were incredibly reliable rifles so the 30 th Division complied with the weapons exchange. In the Great War, trench warfare dominated, and the trench systems were large and complex. The trench systems were composed of front trenches, reserve trenches, and support trenches. All these trenches ran parallel to each other and were normally connected by a communications trench. In some cases, there were only two lines of trenches. Where the 119 th Infantry was stationed, there were five trench lines. The trench lines included the Yellow Line, Green Line, Brown Line, General Headquarters (G.H.Q.) 1, and G.H.Q. 2. The Yellow Line, also called the Regimental Reserve Line, was a reserve trench in the Canal 4

sector. The Green Line was also a reserve trench. The Brown Line was a support trench. G.H.Q. 1 was the front line, and G.H.Q. 2 was the close support trench. On May 31 st, they landed in Calais, France and headed to Audruicq for more training under the British. The 30 th Division had British and French officers and noncommissioned officers with them most of the time. Some had been with them since the division was in the United States. In Audruicq the 39 th British Division oversaw the training of the 30 th Division. The training had two phases A and B. Phase A was four weeks long and consisted of March Discipline and Trench Warfare. Phase B had American companies integrate with British ones and work in the Blue Line, a reserve position along the front. First, one British and one American soldier were paired up and worked together. After the British were confident of the Americans abilities, Americans and British formed separate platoons along the reserve lines alternating between British and American platoons. Once the British were totally confident, they would pull back to the Yellow Line reserves or Regimental Reserve Line. An American company would hold the Blue Line until another American company came to relieve them and the on-the-job training continued. The Blue Line was a reserve trench and just east of Poperinge. In Poperinge, the American troops went through Phase B of training. The training that the 119 th Infantry went through was potentially dangerous because attacks were expected around Poperinge, Belgium. Ypres, Belgium was 10 miles to the east of Poperinge and was the site of uninterrupted battles from 1914-1918. This was normally a quiet area along the line because it was a reserve line well behind the front line in Ypres, which made it beneficial for training new troops, but when the 119 th Infantry was present, they had to worry about an enemy assault. If there were an assault, the enemy would have to go through the 25th British Division on the front lines before reaching the Americans on the Blue Line so that the fresh 5

men from the 30 th Division were not yet directly in harms way. During this training period, the soldiers from Dyer County and those that were a part of Company K were stationed in regions known as the Scottish Wood, the Domino Trench, and the Ravine. All these regions were in Flanders in the Canal sector, which included the immediate area southwest of Ypres to Heuvelland. On August 31 st, the 119 th Infantry received intelligence that the Germans were pulling back from Mont Kemmel, also know as Kemmel Hill or Kemmelberg, and that the British were moving forward to occupy the position. Mont Kemmel was a strategic position in Flanders that was about a kilometer from the village of Kemmel in Heuvelland, Belgium that was higher than the rest of the surrounding area and allowed for the observation of the surrounding area. The Allies had to camouflage the roads in the area to keep the Germans from observing troop movements in the area from Mont Kemmel. August 31 st was the end of training for the 119 th as they advanced toward the German lines along the town of Voormezeele and got their first taste of combat. They fought and made a general advance from about 1030 (10:30 AM) until about 1800 (6:00 PM), but there was sporadic fighting and advances were made into the next morning. The British 33 rd s artillery supported the 119 th Infantry Regiment as they advanced on Lock 8. The artillery was not well coordinated and informed of the Americans positions and shelled the 119 th as well as the Germans. As a result of the shelling, the 119 th suffered two causalities. 7 The advance was successful and led to the capture of Voormezeele and Lock 8 of the Ypres-Comines Canal. 8 During the fighting, the 119 th Infantry Regiment lost eight service members. Two were captured and six were killed in action of August 31 st. While the 119 th was in the Canal sector, 67 died in combat, 216 were wounded, and 2 were missing and had been captured by the Germans. 9 The 119 th Infantry 6

Regiment was the first American regiment to be on the front lines in Belgium, to make an advance, to capture a prisoner, and to capture a town. 10 On the night of September 3 rd, the British 106th Brigade relieved the 119 th Infantry Regiment. The next morning, they traveled to Dirty Bucket Camp and then to Road Camp in Sint-Jan-ter Biezen, Belgium. The 119 th spent a day at Road Camp to bath, and rest. On September 5 th, they were ordered to join the 3 rd British Army. They traveled by train to St. Pol Area, which was close to Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, France, arriving on the 7 th of September. St. Pol was used for rest and training. While in St. Pol, the 119 th trained alongside tanks to demonstrate how they could be used in combat. 12 They did not know it at the time, but the training with the tanks was part of their preparation for the Somme Offensive. On the 17 th of September, the regiment traveled via train to the Puchevillers Area. The train ride took about six hours and they arrived that day. Once they were there, they began more rigorous training in preparation for assaulting the Hindenburg Line. They especially trained in trenches and terrain that were similar to what they would experience during the attack. On the 22 nd of September, the 119 th transferred to the British Fourth Army and were sent on the 24 th to Roisel where they stayed three days finalizing plans for the assault on the Hindenburg Line. 11 7

On the night of the 27 th of September, the regiment took over the Allied line close to Bellicourt. Artillery in the sector bombarded the Hindenburg Line for two days to soften up the German s lines. Over the next two nights, the 119 th made sure they were in position and that their tank support was in position as well. While the 119 th did this, the 105 th Engineers marked the route to ensure no one was confused on where to go. The order the regiment would move in had 1 st Battalion and 2 nd Battalion making the main assault and 3 rd Battalion moving behind them to clear out the areas the other two battalions had been through. During the assault, Company K of 3 rd Battalion moved to protect 2 nd Battalion s left flank because the 27 th Division was having trouble keeping up with the advance of the 30 th Division. This caused the left flank to be open to attack and the Germans tried to capitalize on it. Luckily for the 119 th, the Fifth Australian Division was sent to help on their left flank. The Australians were supposed to help the 119 th once they made it to the final objective. The final objective had not been reached yet, and the Australians assisted the 119 th by covering their left flank. 13 14 8

While the left flank was exposed, many service members were wounded, killed, taken prisoner, or went missing. Some of those were runners that were trying to make take orders to detachments and other units. Sergeant George F. Miller from Dyersburg, Tennessee, was one of these runners. Sergeant Miller was an NCO in Company K, of the 119 th Infantry Regiment. Two other runners died before in an attempt to take orders to another detachment. Sergeant Miller volunteered after the other two failed. Attempting to bring the orders to the other unit, Sergeant Miller crossed an open field and was mortally wounded. He died in France on October 4 th. Posthumously, Sergeant Miller was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his action while serving near Bellicourt, France. 15 The 119 th and the Australians could not make an advance toward their final objective until the morning of the 30 th of September, but they had taken Bellicourt. By the time that they were, the 119 th had orders to withdraw. The rest of the day the 119 th spent reorganizing and consolidating the area that they held. Details were also sent to inspect trenches and dugouts for the wounded and dead. The total killed in action for the 119 th during 29 th and 30 th were 146. The total wounded was 691. Sixteen died of their wounds. This includes Sergeant Miller. The total taken prisoner was 37 and the total missing in action was 12. 16 On night of the 2 nd of October, the 119 th marched to the Herbécourt Area and set up camp on the Marne River west of Péronne. They rested for two days then marched to the Tincourt Area that they had passed through to get to the Herbécourt Area. They camped one night in the Tincourt Wood and continued to occupy the Hindenburg Line. They spent two night on the Hindenburg Line and marched to Prémont to assault and capture Busigny. On the 8 th of October, the attack on Busigny opened with artillery and the infantry followed. The 119 th was positioned between the British 25 Division and the 120 th Infantry Regiment. They quickly gained about 1,500 yards and encountered some resistance, but continued to push 9

through. Once they push through, they routed the Germans out of the town of Busigny and liberated 1,800 French civilians. The 119 th also captured a lot of war material, which included a 5.9 Battery and field pieces. After they secured the area, they reconsolidated and moved Regimental Headquarters to Prémont from Vaux Le Prêtre. 17 On the 9 th of October, the 119 th continued to assault the German line. Their aim was to take the Heights overlooking the La Selle River. The Heights were about 500 yards east of the La Selle River and assumed to be well fortified. The regiment advanced easily toward the Heights until the 120 th Infantry on their 119 th s left flank slowed and lost contact. Until the 120 th moved forward to cover the left flank, the 119 th in the center and the British 25 th Division on the 119 th s right dug in and held the line for the night. The 120 th did not catch up to the 119 th as the 108th Infantry Regiment from the 27th Division relieved the 119 th on the 11th of October. Once relieved, the 119 th marched to Prémont and then close to a farm just southwest of Vaux le Prêtre to set up camp. The regiment camped for five days and cleaned their equipment and themselves. 18 On the 16 th of October, they marched southwest of Busigny and camped there for the night. The next day they marched to the eastern outskirts of La Haie Mennerese and went through Vaux-Andigny to the front line held by the 117 th Infantry Regiment. They arrived on the 17 th of October. Once in position, the 119 th Infantry Regiment pushed forward toward Ribeauville, which was located near the southwestern edge of Avesnois Natural Regional Park and is four miles from Busigny. They were presented with heavy machinegun and artillery fire and had to dig in about 2,000 yards to the west of Ribeauville for the night. They could not move any further because once again the 120 th to their left and the British on the right were unable to keep up with the 119 th. On the 18 th of October, the British caught up to the 119 th and continued to advance. The 120 th had also made progress and was advancing. 10

With both sides advancing, the 119 th had to advance as well to keep the front line strong. On the 18 th, they made it to the eastern part of Ribeauville, but continued to advance. On the 19 th of October, they secured Ribeauville. Once secured, the 119 th reconsolidated and ensured contact with the British on the right and the 120 th on the left. Once they were ready, the 119 th Infantry Regiment advanced toward Catillon and captured Mazinghein After securing the town of Mazinghein, the 119 th moved east to the high ground that overlooked the Sambre Canal where they encountered heavy machinegun fire and could not advance any further. Since they could not advance, they dug in and set up for a counter-attack. 19 On the night of the 19 th of October, the British relieved the 119 th Infantry Regiment. The 119 th marched to St. Souplet and stayed one night. On the 20 th of October, they marched to Busigny and the next day they continued marching to Joncourt. On the 22 nd of October, they moved on foot to an area west of Tincourt and made camp. The next day they rode a train from Tincourt to Heilly and marched to the Contay Area close to Amiens. Once in the Contay Area, the 119 th Infantry Regiment refilled its ranks with replacements, rested, and trained for almost a month. 20 On the 17 th of November, the British Expeditionary Forces relieved the 30 th Division of duty and transferred the division to the American Expeditionary Forces. On the 21 st of November, the 119 th traveled via train to the LeMans Area where most American forces were stationed. They trained and drilled in the LeMans Area until the 11 th of February 1919. On the 11 th, they moved the Forwarding Camps that prepared them to return to the United States. Once preparations were completed, they marched to St. Nazaire for the Embarkation Camp to finalize preparations to return home. Finally, on the 17 th of March they embarked on the U.S.S. Madawaska and U.S.S. Huron and headed toward the United States. On the 2 nd of April, they made it to Charleston, South Carolina, and traveled via train to Camp Jackson, 11

South Carolina. All the service members from North Carolina were mustered out of service at Camp Jackson. The Tennesseans went to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and were mustered out on the 9 th of April. 21 From Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, the Tennesseans from the 119 th Infantry Regiment went home. Some Tennesseans that served in World War I were not a part of the 119 th and some never went overseas. Major Ewell Weakley never went to Europe. He had hoped to be deployed, but never had the chance. Major Weakley grew up in Dyer County. He was the son of Judge George Weakley who was the probate judge for Dyer County. Major Weakly was educated through the Dyer County school system, and later went to Castle Heights School in Lebanon. He studied law at Louisville and finished his study of law at Cumberland University in Lebanon. Upon completion of his education in 1909, he returned to Dyer County to practice law. A year later he wed Ursula Green. Her father was Colonel John R. Green. Colonel Green had served in the American Civil War with six of his brothers and had shared his stories with Major Weakley. Major Weakley also had relatives that served in the Civil War that he knew about. When the United States entered World War I, Weakley joined the American cause as a Sergeant. Probably disparaging for Sergeant Weakley was that he did not serve in the same way his ancestors had served. He became a clerk for the judge advocate s office at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. Sergeant Weakley was also responsible for review court martials. He did a splendid job and was promoted to captain and later to major. Major Weakley almost went overseas in November of 1918. While he was waiting in Hoboken, New Jersey to ship to Europe, the war ended. He stayed in Hoboken as the local judge advocate over the transport service between Hoboken and France until he was released from duty in January 1919. After World War 1, Major Weakly returned to Dyer County to continue practicing law. 22 12

When those that went overseas arrived home, they all readjusted to civilian life in their own ways. It seemed that some had to start their lives over from scratch and others had families to help support them. Some like Frank J. Walker found work when they returned home. Walker became a farmer in Dyersburg, Tennessee until he passed away in 1951. 23 Others like Jere Cooper had promising political careers. After Cooper served in the First World War, he became a Congressman from the Eight District in Tennessee. Later in his life, he became the chairman of the House s Ways and Means Committee. Most impressive is that before President Franklin Delano Roosevelt passed away Cooper was one of the candidates for an appointment to the United States Supreme Court. 24 Eugene Gentry was also a veteran of the First World War. He was well known throughout the state of Tennessee for being involved in the American Legion. Gentry also always dressed up as Uncle Sam at parades in Dyersburg. 25 Dyer Count lost many good young men to the First World War. Some like Sergeant George F. Miller are better known. A total of twenty-nine Dyer Countians died in combat with thirty-eight more that died in service. The military decorations that were awarded to the service members included the Distinguished Service Cross, which only went to Sergeant George F. Miller, twelve Silver Stars, forty-five Purple Hearts, and three British Military Medals. The service members that gave their lives are remembered for their sacrifice in a large bronze memorial tablet that is located on the east side of the north door of the courthouse in downtown Dyersburg. 26 Although most Americans do not realize how much effort rural American men did for their country when they went overseas, service members like those from Dyer County were instrumental in helping to bring the Great War to an end. They brought a new sense of morale, which had seemed to disappear from the European armies as they had been fighting 13

for three years before the Americans entered World War I, to the battlefield. The stalemate that had settled into Europe most likely would have lasted much longer. Many of the American service members from Dyer County sacrificed their lives for the war to end. Most lived to carryon the memory of their fallen comrades and to return home to their families. Works Cited World War Record of Ex- Soldiers of Dyer County of State of Tennessee. Tennessee Department of State: Tennessee State Library and Archives. http://share.tn.gov/tsla/history/mailmil.htm. Accessed March 21, 2017. https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/factsheets/fs_americas_wars.pdf. Fact Sheet - The 30th Infantry Division Veterans of WWII. Accessed March 21, 2017. http://www.30thinfantry.org/fact_sheet.shtml. illus400.jpg (500 245). Accessed July 10, 2017. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/41479/41479-h/images/illus400.jpg. Miller, George F. East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association. Accessed March 3, 2017. https://etvma.org/veterans/george-f-miller-12284/. The Crockett Times - July 1951. Accessed January 23, 2017. http://tnroots.com/tncrockett/newspapers/times-jul-1951.html. Dyer County Sesquicentennial. N.p.: Anderson Printing Co., 1973. Print. Jr, Earl Willoughby. The Major and the Overseer. Dyersburg State Gazette, January 17, 2002. http://www.stategazette.com/story/1033361.html. Conway, Coleman Berkley, and George A. Shuford. History 119th Infantry, 60th Brigade, 30th Division, U.S.A. : Operations in Belgium and France, 1917-1919. [Wilmington, N.C.] : Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, 1920. http://archive.org/details/history119thinfaconw. Yockelson, Mitchell A. Borrowed Soldiers: Americans under British Command, 1918. University of Oklahoma Press, 2016. 14

1 https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/factsheets/fs_americas_wars.pdf. Accessed March 21, 2017. 2 World War Record of Ex-Soldiers of Dyer County: State of Tennessee, 2. 3 Coleman Berkley Conway and George A. Shuford, History 119th Infantry, 60th Brigade, 30th Division, U.S.A. : Operations in Belgium and France, 1917-1919 (Wilmington, N.C. : Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, 1920), 1. http://archive.org/details/history119thinfaconw. 4 Fact Sheet - The 30th Infantry Division Veterans of WWII. http://www.30thinfantry.org/fact_sheet.shtml. 5 Conway and Shuford, History 119 th Infantry, 2-7. 6 Ibid, 3-7. 7 Mitchell A Yockelson, Borrowed Soldiers: Americans under British Command, 1918 (University of Oklahoma Press, 2016) pg#? Chapter Ypres. 8 Yockelson, Borrowed Soldiers pg#? Chapter Ypres. 9 Conway and Shuford, History 119 th Infantry, 30-32. 10 Ibid, 31. 11 illus400.jpg (500 245). Accessed July 10, 2017. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/41479/41479- h/images/illus400.jpg. 12 Conway and Shuford, History 119 th Infantry, 35. 13 Ibid, 46-48. 14 Error! Main Document Only.Ibid, 141. 15 Miller, George F. East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association. Accessed March 3, 2017. https://etvma.org/veterans/george-f-miller-12284/. 16 Conway and Shuford, History 119 th Infantry, 48. 17 Ibid, 50. 18 Ibid, 52. 19 Ibid, 53-55. 20 Ibid, 54-56 21 Ibid, 57-58. 22 Jr, Earl Willoughby. The Major and the Overseer. Dyersburg State Gazette, January 17, 2002. http://www.stategazette.com/story/1033361.html. 23 The Crockett Times - July 1951. http://tn-roots.com/tncrockett/newspapers/times-jul-1951.html. 24 Dyer County Sesquicentennial, (N.p.: Anderson Printing Co., 1973.), pg#?. 25 Ibid. 26 Ibid. 15